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Inside Zapier's AI-First Talent Strategy
Frameworks to Help You Map AI Fluency in Your Organization
Steve Luu
June 13, 2025 • Estimated Read Time: 6 minutes
⏱️ Your Morning Brief (TL;DR)
Welcome back!
Shopify sets the bar: CEO Tobi Lutke says “reflexive AI use is baseline” no new head‑count gets approved until a bot is ruled out.
Zapier delivers clarity: Their new AI‑Fluency Matrix shows exactly how Engineering, Product, Support, HR, and Marketing level‑up from Unacceptable → Transformative.
Your action plan: Audit every function, move one box right, and track ROI with a framework stack that blends Zapier (skills), IBM/Google/Accenture (maturity), and Microsoft/Deloitte (governance).
In this issue:
Deep‑dive on Zapier’s AI‑Fluency Matrix
AI Framework Cheat‑Sheet: 10 models—from skills to board governance
6 curated reads to boost org‑wide AI literacy
One‑click poll: Where will your team move the needle
Let’s dive in 🤖
💡 This Week’s Deep Dive
Why it matters
According to Accenture, only ~12 % of companies hit “AI Achiever” status. Most firms are stuck in pilot purgatory because people, data, or risk blockers stall progress.
Zapier’s AI-Fluency Matrix
The role-by-role AI-Fluency Matrix is a four-stage matrix, from “Unacceptable” to “Transformative” for roles across Engineering, Product, Support, People/HR, and Marketing.
Zapier AI Fluency Matrix
GPTLDR Takeaways
Run a self-audit: Share the matrix with each functional head and ask: Which column describes how we actually work today?
Set “one-box-over” objectives: Don’t leap from Capable to Transformative in a quarter. Instead, pick one skill per role.
Measure progress in business metrics.
Engineering: PR cycle time
Product: days from idea → user insight
Support: first-response time
HR: time-to-hire & shortlist diversity
Marketing: CAC or CTR uplift
Invest in humans, not replacement. Position AI as a force-multiplier, not a head-count reducer; you’ll earn faster adoption and lower change-resistance.
Learn AI in 5 minutes a day
What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join 1,000,000+ early adopters reading The Rundown AI — the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.
📖 AI Framework Cheat-Sheet
Every big vendor and consultancy now has its own “AI-maturity” map. Below you’ll find AI skills matrix (Zapier), company maturity models (IBM, Google, Accenture), to AI governance frameworks (Microsoft, Deloitte).
Layer | Framework | Use it when… |
|---|---|---|
Skills | You need role descriptions and development plans | |
Company | Infrastructure & cost optimization matters | |
Execs need a value benchmark | ||
Cloud/data plumbing lag behind ambition | ||
You operate in multiple markets | ||
Governance | Board/risk teams need a scorecard | |
Audit slows launches | ||
Function-Specific | Large CX teams on Service Cloud | |
Marketing lacks clean first-party data |
📚 Interesting Reads
How AI Fluency Enables Workplace Innovation (Link)
Building AI Fluency Inside Your Organization (Link)
The Data Leader’s Guide to Elevating AI Literacy (Link)
What is AI Fluency? And Why It Matters (Link)
Udemy Launches New AI Fluency Packages to Accelerate Workforce Transformation (Link)
Creating Organizational Fluency in AI (Link)
🗳️ This Week’s Poll
➜ Until Next Week
Zapier’s matrix proves progress is a staircase, not a rocket. Keep nudging every role one step right and AI‑first becomes less a slogan, more a habit.
Stay curious,
The GPTLDR Team
P.S. - We send out Monday Briefs, curated reads on AI’s impact to your people, operations, technology and strategy. Check out the 7th edition.